The streamer is quite possibly the most misunderstood device commonly used in the high-end audio chain. Most people harbor the thought that the differences between streamers are either non-existent or very, very small. I had that thought, reinforced by the idea that “it’s just a computer, and computers can be had for $500.” Then I started testing them. The differences are pretty obvious on a good system, and I think meaningful if you have a well-developed system. The Tidal Audio Arkas certainly makes this point.

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00:00 Tidal Audio Arkas

01:17 Overview

04:05 Sound Quality

09:24 Background

11:13 Summary

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Tom's reference system:

Aurender N20 Streamer/Server

Roon Nucleus server

Mac Mini (M2) server

Wiim Pro server/DAC

Bluesound Node server/DAC

Topping D70 Pro DAC

dCS Lina DAC/Master clock

Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3 with Alpha USB Series 2 input module

MSB Premier DAC

J Sikora Initial Max turntable

Technics SL-1210G turntable

Kuzma 4Point 9” arm

J Sikora KV12 tone arm

DS Audio 003 cartridge

Benz Gullwing SLR cartridge

Hana Umami Blue cartridge

Hegel V10 phono preamp

Musical Surroundings Phonomena III phono preamp

DS Audio 003 optical cartridge energizer

PS Audio BHK 600 mono power amps

MBL N51 integrated amp

Audio Research 160S power amp

Magico A5 speakers

Perlisten S7t speakers

Wireworld Platinum Electra speaker and line cables

Shunyata Omega digital cables

Shunyata Venom power cables and director

Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner (for analog)

Audioquest Niagra 7000 power conditioning

Rediacoustic diffusers and absorbers

Rediacoustic bass traps

PSI Audio AVAA active traps

Salamander racks

Solidsteel Turntable rack

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